Steam Market Fee Calculator
See exactly what the buyer pays, what you receive, and how much Valve and the publisher take — for any listing price and any game.
Matches Live Market
Implements Valve's exact floor-rounding and $0.01 minimum — results match the Steam Market to the cent.
USD Only (Steam Default)
Fees are percent-based, so the math is identical in EUR, GBP, and CNY — only the currency symbol changes.
Steam Market Fees at a Glance
What buyers pay, what sellers receive, and what Valve keeps
Every Steam Market listing has two separate fees stacked on top of the list price. One goes to Valve; one goes to the game's publisher. Because they're calculated independently with floor rounding and a $0.01 minimum, the effective fee rate on small listings is often much higher than the nominal 15%.
Quick Answer: For a standard game at $10.00 — Buyer pays $11.50, Seller receives $8.50, Steam keeps $0.50, publisher keeps $1.00. For CS2, Dota 2, and TF2 items, the publisher fee is 0% — Buyer pays $10.50, Seller receives $9.50.
Every Steam Market transaction involves two distinct fees, calculated separately from the list price. Both are paid by the buyer on top of the listing price, then deducted from the seller's payout.
Steam Transaction Fee — 5%
Goes directly to Valve for running the marketplace. Applies to every transaction on every game, with a $0.01 minimum. Funds payment processing, fraud prevention, and Steam infrastructure.
Game Publisher Fee — 10%
Goes to the publisher of the game the item belongs to. 10% for most games, 0% for Valve's own games (CS2, Dota 2, TF2) — since Valve would be paying itself. Also has a $0.01 minimum when non-zero.
Why the Effective Rate Varies
Because each fee is floor-rounded independently and has a $0.01 minimum, small listings pay a disproportionately high effective fee. A $0.03 sticker listing pays $0.02 in fees — a 67% effective rate, not 15%.
Steam doesn't round fees in the standard way. It uses floor rounding — always round down — and enforces a $0.01 minimum on each fee independently. This matters more than most sellers realize.
Floor rounding works in the seller's favor on odd prices. A $10.07 listing with a 5% fee would calculate to $0.5035 — but floor rounding caps it at $0.50, not $0.51. On large sale volumes, this adds up.
Valve's own titles — Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and Team Fortress 2 — are the only games that bypass the publisher fee. This isn't a discount; it's structural: Valve simply doesn't charge itself.
| List Price | Game Type | Buyer Pays | Seller Receives | Effective Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1.00 | Standard | $1.15 | $0.85 | 15% |
| $1.00 | CS2/Dota2/TF2 | $1.05 | $0.95 | 5% |
| $10.00 | Standard | $11.50 | $8.50 | 15% |
| $10.00 | CS2/Dota2/TF2 | $10.50 | $9.50 | 5% |
| $100.00 | Standard | $115.00 | $85.00 | 15% |
| $100.00 | CS2/Dota2/TF2 | $105.00 | $95.00 | 5% |
Why Valve-Game Items Dominate Steam Market Volume
10 Percentage Points Matter
On a $100 listing, the fee difference is $10. Over thousands of daily trades, traders concentrate on games where fees are lower — which is why CS2 skins and Dota 2 cosmetics dominate market activity.
Liquidity Reinforces Itself
Lower fees attract more sellers and buyers. More participants means tighter spreads. Tighter spreads attract more traders. CS2's market is the benchmark the rest of Steam Market is measured against.
The $0.01 minimum fee per component turns the 15% nominal rate into a much higher effective rate for cheap items. Trading cards, common stickers, and low-tier skins are hit especially hard.
Example: A $0.03 trading card listing. Steam fee = max($0.01, floor($0.03 × 0.05 × 100)/100) = $0.01. Publisher fee = $0.01. Seller receives $0.01. That's a 67% effective fee — not 15%.
| List Price | Fees | Seller Gets | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0.03 | $0.02 | $0.01 | 67% |
| $0.10 | $0.02 | $0.08 | 20% |
| $0.50 | $0.07 | $0.43 | 14% |
| $1.00 | $0.15 | $0.85 | 15% |
| $100.00 | $15.00 | $85.00 | 15% |
How to Avoid Small-Price Drag
- Batch your cards
Rather than listing 50 cards individually at $0.04 each, use Gem-to-Booster Pack conversion or wait for a Steam sale when card prices spike. Listing a single bundled item of higher value dodges the fixed-minimum penalty.
- Set prices above \$0.20
Below about $0.20, floor rounding and the $0.01 minimum eat a noticeable chunk. Above $0.20, the effective rate settles at 15%.
- Use Steam Wallet, not cash out
Steam Wallet is one-way — you can't convert it back to cash. Price every sale assuming the proceeds will stay in Steam. If you want real money, third-party platforms like Skinport or DMarket are the alternative (with their own fees).
The Bottom Line
Steam Market fees are 5% Steam + 10% publisher = 15% for standard games, or just 5% for CS2, Dota 2, and TF2. Floor rounding works in the seller's favor on odd prices, but the $0.01 minimum punishes sub-$0.20 listings with effective rates up to 67%. When in doubt, run the numbers before you list.